"Carefree, Intimate and Fun": Ana & Brian's Coolbawn Quay Wedding

We love a good Tinder love story around here, but the one from today's real wedding is extra special - because the couple were already friends. (Well, on Facebook anyway!) Brian & Ana are a stylish couple who tied the knot with a Coolbawn Quay wedding that was focused purely on giving their guests a great day. From thoughtful touches to planning out their lull-free festivities, this pair had so much fun putting together their day. With beautiful photography by Awake & Dreaming, get set for gorgeous style, fab florals, and a lesson in planning a wedding, without the stress!

Ana tells us she met Brian three years before they got together, “Brian was the scary older brother I met walking into the house of a friend of mine for a party. We were both in relationships at the time, so a simple Facebook friend request was as far as it went.”

When they were both finally single, it was a different app that actually brought them together, “We both decided to swipe right when we stumbled upon a familiar face on Tinder (yes we do have Tinder to thank),” explains Brian. “Ana did cancel our first date… but after a bumpy start, here we are!”

Brian had made romantic plans to propose by Ballycotton Cliffs in East Cork as Ana tells us, with Ireland being Ireland horrendous weather put a stop to those, “Luckily he had booked into Castlemartyr Hotel which provided an ideal substitute. It was really beautiful and intimate proposal and most importantly had the right outcome!”

The illusion detailing on Ana's gown is just stunning - what a beaut!

But for Ana, the proposal is still a blur, “To this day I still don’t know exactly what Brian said during the proposal… I just remember seeing him going down on one knee, me covering my face, eyes filling with tears. The excitement and pure happiness that followed is something we had never felt before.”

The couple were eager to give their guests a great day out, “Our wedding (we hope) was a carefree, intimate and fun affair! But to be honest, at the end of the day, all we really wanted was for everyone to enjoy themselves. To have all our family and friends in the one place for a couple of days of fun and celebration.”

Ana & Brian say they wanted their day to have a calm, romantic and relaxed feel, “When we got engaged we said to each other “as soon as planning the wedding is not fun anymore, we’ve got to change!”. But it never stopped being fun (maybe once or twice for a split second). We were so excited to get married and celebrate the big day with everyone.”

The couple had a clear marquee ceremony, which gave them an outdoor feel without the stress of watching the rain clouds.

They decided to prioritise themselves and their guests, “We wanted the wedding to reflect who we are, to be personal. We’re not fans of a lull at weddings, so it was important to us that people felt like they spent the day chilling out with friends, having fun. For example, we tried to make sure that there wasn’t a long wait between the ceremony and the reception.” Always a good shout - I’m sure Ana & Brian’s guests appreciated that one!

As part of their quest to make their day as personalised as possible, the couple added lots of fun touches to their ceremony, “We had a humanist ceremony, and as part of the ceremony we asked our friends to choose their own readings,” explains Ana, “We ended up with an excerpt from Winnie the Pooh and a love story about Dinosaurs, and we couldn’t have asked for better. We also wrote our own vows which made the ceremony all the more intimate. The main thing we remember from the ceremony was laughter!”

Coolbawn Quay was the first and only venue Brian and Ana visited, “From the moment we stepped into the venue, there was no decision to be made; it was ‘The One’,” explains the couple, “We wanted something a bit different from the traditional hotel venue. In Coolbawn Quay, you get that “holiday” feeling. It’s like a world of its own; so peaceful, and beautiful.”

The accommodation at Coolbawn Quay was a big selling point for the couple, “The gorgeous houses where most of our guests stayed made it feel like our own little village for just us and all those closest to us. We remember being in our house the morning after the wedding, and hearing the guests laughing while having breakfast outside. It was magical!”

Ana & Brian have nothing but good things to say about the staff at the venue too, “Everything with the venue was perfect from the beautiful setting to the incredible food and most importantly the staff were fantastic. They went above and beyond to make the wedding that extra bit special, and no request was ever too much. We cannot recommend Coolbawn Quay enough!”

Ana & Brian were overwhelmed by all the loving vibes they felt at their wedding, “The best thing on the day was the guests. They really made the day!" the couple explain, "All the well wishes, the laughter, the dancefloor with constant dancing feet… We couldn’t go to the bathroom without being stopped by someone. It was amazing to feel that love from people and we were so appreciative of that!”

Now seasoned pros at wedding planning, Ana & Brian say it’s so important to have fun while you’re planning, “We heard of a lot of people that find it stressful, but this is the one day that is all about you and the love you share for one another. It is one of the best and most memorable days of your life, and to waste a moment being stressed is not worth it.”

They also say advise that no matter how much planning you do, you can’t control everything, “We ended up forgetting the papers we needed to sign to actually be married! There is nothing you can do about it, so just embrace it and enjoy a day. There are no do-overs. Just remember you are marrying your best friend, all else is irrelevant.” Here, here!

The bride and groom took time adding lots of personal touches throughout the wedding, “We got pictures of each guest that we cartoonised and used as place names. That did involve several hours of Facebook stalking, but it was definitely worth it," Ana tells us. "We also framed pictures of us with our guests that we placed around the venue. We created our own wedding booklet, and spent many evenings painting jars and lanterns to go with our pastel and rose gold colour theme. We turned two trees into literal family trees with framed pictures of our family members.”

The couple also paid homage to their beginnings, “We included a screenshot of our “It’s a Match” from Tinder in our centrepieces. Brian had screenshot it when we matched on Tinder and kept it.”

Brian tells us about one special moment from the reception, “Ana’s brother made a montage with home videos to celebrate Ana’s Mum, who has passed away. We showed this video at the reception, which is something we will always remember. Having the chance to “feel” her there and be able to show her off to everyone was very special.”

The couple kept the festivities going on Day Two, “We had Barry O’Neill and his band play music during the day after who were fantastic. As a surprise they actually met Brian’s dad and practiced a song that they performed with him on the day which was pretty cool.”

Brian & Ana looked for a honeymoon that offered them the perfect balance of relaxation and adventure, “So we went to Mauritius and South Africa. We highly recommend it… We did the relaxation first in Mauritius, and finished up sitting two feet away from an elephant in South Africa. Once in a life time experiences that make our honeymoon standout from any other holiday. We were very lucky!”

Such a romantic (and fun!) celebration - we love it when a couple makes it all about the experience! Thanks so much to Ana & Brian for sharing all their great tips and the story behind their day - and of course to Awake and Dreaming for sending these beautiful pictures our way.